Parish to get its own church at last

After more than a decade of celebrating Mass in a house then a school hall, Gungahlin parishioners next year will have their own church.

Holy Spirit parish church with seating for about 380 - and the provision to stretch into the adjoining Good Shepherd Primary School hall for big occasions - is expected to be completed at Amaroo in July.

Parish priest Fr Bernie Patterson said Gungahlin was a growing area with a real need for a church. “Most of the children in Gungahlin have never been in a church building.

“While parishioners are willing to begin in temporary conditions, there comes a time when they will want a sacred space to celebrate their relationship with Christ. This time has come.”

The new church will become the Mass centre for the parish, taking the place of the joint venture hall at Holy Spirit and Gold Creek primary schools at Nicholls.

The project will cost about $2 million with money borrowed from the Catholic Development Fund supplementing the $1 million already saved by the parish.

Parish pastoral council chair and member of the building committee Mrs Ruth Schwensen said other parishes had also been generous donors. The former Calwell parish had given $65,000 when it decided not to go ahead with building a church, and others had passed on interest they had gained form their investments, or had sent donations. Gungahlin parishioners had been involved in many fund-raising ventures over the years and Fr Patterson had led the way in saving for the church project.

She said the church needed to cater for about 600 people at the Sunday morning Mass, with about 1000 in all attending over a weekend.

The project aimed to give people the feeling that they were entering a church not a hall when they arrived for a ceremony. An acoustic door between the church and hall could be opened when needed to cater for larger congregations.

The new church would also give easy access to a classroom for about 150 children who go out of Mass to their Sunday liturgy.  The church will be built in conjunction with stage 6 of the expanding Good Shepherd Primary School in Burdekin Street, Amaroo.

ABOVE: Gungahlin parish pastoral council chair Mrs Ruth Schwensen with a model of the new church.

Prayers for rain - it's up to us

Catholics throughout the Archdiocese have been urged by Archbishop Mark Coleridge to make a special effort in Advent to pray for those who are suffering through what has been described as possibly the worst drought in a thousand years.

Archbishop Coleridge has committed a large part of the Archbishop’s Christmas Appeal to drought relief in the Archdiocese.

Heads of Christian churches called on people to show solidarity with those hardest hit with communities across the nation taking part in a National Day of Prayer late last month.

Catholic parishioners have come together with their fellow Christians in a number of country centres in the Archdiocese for ecumenical prayer services.

In his Advent pastoral letter published in Catholic Voice, Archbishop Coleridge asked the entire Archdiocese to undertake “in a special way through this Advent the work of intercession for those suffering from the drought.

“I would ask that in every parish and community there be special intercession made each Sunday, even each day, for the coming of rain and the strengthening of those suffering from the drought.”

He invited everyone to pay special attention to prayer at the beginning and end of each day, and to build in a moment of awareness of God’s presence in the middle of the day. This could be done in schools and communities by praying the Angelus each day during Advent. He also recommended for those who could to spend at least 10 minutes each day in silent prayer.

“Whether we look to the parched land of the Archdiocese or the arid soil of our hearts, what we need above all through this Advent is a renewal of hope, which in the end is the one thing without which the human being cannot live. When hope dies, then we become like the dying eucalypts.”

President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop Philip Wilson, of Adelaide, joined other Christian churches heads in calling for prayer for rain and for those severely affected by drought.

“At a time when our political leaders and climate experts are giving close attention to the economic consequences of this drought, we should remember the many people on farms and in small businesses who are suffering often in a deeply personal way. Local churches are already providing practical and personal support, and will continue to do their utmost. Our prayer shows that Australians stand together in the face of adversity.”

These articles and many more may be found in Catholic Voice, which is published monthly and available in parish churches, Catholic schools and bookshops throughout the Archdiocese. They are also available on line at www.catholicvoice.com.au